Just as true humor is laughter at oneself, true humanity is knowledge of oneself.

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

To see directly is to be free of hope and fear. Hope and fear are like a cloud before the sun.

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

Life is nothing but a continuous chain of sensations. Pleasant or unpleasant, observe them objectively.

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the "support," of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

Sticking with uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.

The more you give, the more you have. That's the economics of kindness.

The development of wisdom does not occur in isolation but requires the cultivation of the entire Noble Eightfold Path.

When you note pain, you are not trying to make it go away. You are trying to understand its true nature.

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.

Concentration and insight are like two wings of a bird: both are necessary for the flight to liberation.

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

The ultimate source of a happy life is warm-heartedness. This means extending to others the kind of concern we have for ourselves.

Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering.

Enlightenment is not about becoming something special, but about realizing what we already are.

Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.

In the moment of anger, abandon anger but not the person. In the moment of attachment, abandon attachment but not the person.

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

The path of practice moves from faith through understanding to direct realization.

The root of all suffering is ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is wisdom that realizes emptiness.

Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.